


Witch Boy

by BlueMotherLion3124



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: A confused essay by me, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Arthur and friends always seem to be caught up in a magical issue every Halloween, Arthur is a Prat, Arthur upsets the Fae, Celtic Mythology & Folklore, Childhood Friends, Friends to Lovers, How to Pine?, M/M, Merlin characters but as children, Merlin has no fashion sense, Merlin is a Little Shit, Minor Gwaine/Percival (Merlin), Minor Gwen/Morgana (Merlin), Mutual Pining, Mythology References, Oblivious Arthur, Oblivious Merlin (Merlin), Pining Arthur, Pining Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Pining Merlin (Merlin), Protective Merlin (Merlin), Sir Leon the Long Suffering, This is now a Three-Shot, Two-Shot, Very vague world building going on, Why has my brain forsaken me..., Witch Merlin, and it bothers Arthur a lot, and loves his mama, but he also finds it endearing, but when isn’t he?, catch me adding more tags while i try my best to finish the last chapter, i know it’s not Halloween, let me live, that’s the plan, the cannibalistic witch was not intended, with magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27695174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueMotherLion3124/pseuds/BlueMotherLion3124
Summary: Every Halloween, Arthur meets with his odd friend Merlin and always happen to go on magical adventures. However, there’s more to Merlin that meets the eye. I mean, why else is he dressed like a witch?
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Morgana & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), them sibling dynamics, we love those - Relationship
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I got this idea after seeing really cute fanart of Kid!Merlin and Arthur dressed up for Halloween. 
> 
> You can see the art here ( https://lao-pendragon.tumblr.com/tagged/HAPPY-HALLOWEEN-MY-FRIENDS%21%21 ) and here ( https://lao-pendragon.tumblr.com/tagged/HAPPY-HALLOWEEN-MY-FRIENDS%21%21 )
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Edit: I guess, I should probably preface that I was not born brit, was not raised a brit and have never lived in the UK, but the characters are living in the UK somewhere. If any of their phrases seem weird let me know in the comments.

“Okay, think you got everything?” his mother asks.

“Yes, mum, I’ve got my belt and my sword _and_ my sack.” Arthur rolls his eyes at his mother’s fussing. Really, he’s ten years old now. He’s trick-or-treating all on his own with his friends. He’s a big boy.

Arthur’s mother smiles softly brushing her pale wig from her face. His mother had decided to match with Arthur’s knight costume and go as a queen from the renaissance. Her dress is a deep scarlet that she got at Party City with a plastic, gold circlet wrapped around her head. 

“Just double checking, little lion.” She goes to kiss his forehead. “Now, don’t you look regal!” she says admiring his costume.

While his mother’s costume is simple with only a few accessories, Arthur’s is a bit more detailed since he told his mother that he wanted to look like a “real” and “authentic” knight like the ones he hears in the fairy tales she reads to him. His leather boots are a light brown, his trousers are black and loose with a brown belt holding his wooden sword, and his tunic is red with a black hood stitched round his collar.

Arthur preened at his mother’s praises on his costume and did a little spin. It’s a silly spin, in his opinion, but it's just him and his mother. He can act silly in front of her. 

She giggles at him and spins herself.

“Do you think I look lovely, sir knight?”

“I think you look beautiful, my lady,” he answers, kissing his mother’s knuckles while she laughs.

The sound of the doorbell is heard even though faint. Arthur’s mother composes herself brushing off imaginary dust from her gown. She crouches down to Arthur and does some last minute fixes. Usually, he would fuss and complain, but let her continue since he, too, didn’t want this moment to end.

“Now, don’t forget to say thank you after being given candy and make sure to come back home no later than eleven thirty, okay?”

“Yes, Mum.”

She smiles wide, showing off her white teeth and pinches Arthur’s cheeks.

“And don’t forget to have fun, little lion. It’s Halloween.”

Arthur giggles and shoves her hands from his cheeks. Just before he leaves, his mother does some last minute fussing. Brushing off his tunic, fixing the sleeves over and over—

“ _Mum!_ I can’t go trick-or-treating if you keep me here!”

His mother sighs and looks over at him one last time before nodding. Arthur nods in return and smiles before exiting his house to meet up with his friends. Today is Halloween, and it’s a full moon he discovers when looking at the sky. Already, Arthur can tell that this Halloween is going to be great.

  
  


Some twenty houses later, Arthur has a sack full of candy along with his other friends. Heavy as it is, Arthur slings it over his back while venturing off to the next house that Gwaine claims has full bars.

“Full bars, guys! None of that _fun-size_ stuff. Trust me!”

“Last time I trusted you, I ended up with a face full of dirt and got grounded by my mother,” grumbles Percival. 

“Oh come on, Perce!” Gwaine laughs, messing with his scruffy wig. “You know I never meant for that to happen! I got in trouble too, you know.” Gwaine gives Percival the biggest, pleading eyes Arthur has ever seen and scoffs.

“Don’t fall for it, Percival. He’ll just get you into more trouble next time.”

Leon and Lancelot chuckle nervously while Elyan nods in agreement. Both Leon and Lancelot dressed as knights with Arthur while Gwaine thought to go as a werewolf. Pecival said he was a jedi. Elyan dressed as an assassin, but unfortunately, had to keep correcting the parents on who he was. Apparently, Robin Hood was a popular guess that was given. Elyan also brought his little sister who was dressed as Batgirl.

“It’s true Percy! Gwaine gave me those puppy eyes and the next thing I know we’re sneaking off to prank his brothers…” Elyan trails off, looking far off into the distance haunted. “I almost died.”

Elyan's sister sighs exasperatedly. “Yeah, and then _I_ had to save you from getting caught from our dad, remember?”

“And I am ever grateful for your aid, Gwen.” He ruffles her hair while Gwen squawks and smacks his arm away.

“Elyan! It took Mum _hours_ to get my hair like this!” She pats down her straightened hair as good as a child can while Elyan rolls his eyes. 

Eventually, they reach the alleged house that holds full sized bars. Maybe it was how late the night had gotten, but the house looked very ominous to Arthur. The lights were a dim orange. Not the bright white like the other houses that passed by. It was also at the corner of the neighborhood, making it feel secluded and isolated. No decorations were found on the lawn. Only a small wooden Jack-o-lantern hanging on the door. 

Arthur has a bad feeling.

He looked at his other friends, gaging their reactions. Gwaine looked excited as ever. Elyan was busy talking to his sister, so even if Elyan did make a reaction, Arthur wouldn’t know. Percival looked worried, but that might be because Gwaine looks like he might explode. Leon and Lancelot did exchange concerned glances to each other and to Arthur, so there’s that.

“Is this really the place?” Leon finally asked.

“Of course!” Gwaine scoffed and puffed up his chest. “This is the place that my brothers were talking about for _weeks.”_

“I dunno, Gwaine,” Lancelot answers, “You know that your brothers tend to…”

“Prank us all the time?” Arthur finishes for him. He notices movement behind the window and grips his sack tighter. Gwaine makes a noise of protest but sags.

“Okay, I know that my brothers are pranksters, but so am I. It’s a family thing. But, lying about full sized candy bars? They would never. Scout’s honor!”

Everyone raised their eyebrow to that. Elyan rolls his eyes and fiddles with his bucket. 

“Well, if they _are_ lying about the candy bars, we can just get back at them, eh?” The gang nods in agreement and starts walking up to the ominous house. 

The wind picks up, and Arthur shivers. He looks up at the full moon, watching as the clouds begin to cover its silver glow. Arthur looks back at the house. With the now cloudy sky, the house looks darker and even more foreboding than it was before. Chills runs down his arms and not from the wind.

 _It’s probably nothing,_ Arthur repeats over and over in his head. _It’s all my imagination. Nothing is wrong with the house. It’s just Halloween._

“You should probably stop your friends from going there.”

Arthur startles at the sudden voice next to him. It was a boy. A boy with light blue eyes.

“Who-who are you?”

The boy smiles and reaches out his hand.

“I’m Merlin.”

Arthur looks down at the hand then back at Merlin’s face. He’s about the same height as Arthur as far as he can tell. To be honest, the costume Merlin is wearing is odd. It _looks_ like a dress that’s worn and has tears at the end but really, is a blue, faded robe. The odd boy also has a worn, blue hat to match. Merlin’s boots are red like his scarf but pointed (and not leather, Arthur’s brain feels the need to add). Merlin tilts his head and raises his brow while Arthur stays frozen next to him. Worried he’d been silent for too long, Arthur blurts out the first thing that came to his mind:

“Why are your ears so big?”

Merlin huffed and covered his now red ears. Arthur cringed. That’s not what he meant to say. Actually, Arthur doesn’t really know what he was trying to say, but he didn’t mean for it to sound rude.

“They are not! You're just a prat!”

Arthur sputters. 

“I’m a what?”

“A prat!” Merlin sniffs and crosses his arms. His ears are still red, but it seems that that isn’t his main focus anymore.

“Well you’re a—a… what _are_ you supposed to be?”

“I’m certainly not a prat!” Merlin huffs, stomping his feet. 

“I meant your costume,” he sighs, gesturing to Merlin’s clothing. “You don’t look like a sorcerer, but with the hat… are you trying to be a wizard?”

“ _Trying to be a—_ I’m a witch!”

Arthur assesses Merlin and his costume. It could work, but lacks effort. Seems to him that Merlin just pulled on whatever and called it a day. Arthur shrugs and pulls his sack over his shoulder.

“Alright then, witch, did you come for the full bars?”

“Full bars?” Merlin asks, his wide eyes blinking. It’s as if he’s never heard the word before. Arthur rolls his eyes.

“Full bars. You know, candy bars that aren’t fun-sized?” More wide staring. “Just—look, it’s candy bars full sized. None of that small sized stuff, okay?”

Merlin nods slowly. Arthur sighs for the umpteenth time. By now, he bets that his friends have already reached the house and got all of Arthur’s favorites. He turns toward where the corner house resides and heads to its door. He can already see that his friends have reached the front door by the porch light.

“Hey, what are you doing!”

“What do you think, _Mer_ lin?” Arthur asks, rolling his eyes. Is this Merlin serious? “I’m getting some full bars.”

The witch boy huffs and stamps his foot. 

“And I _told you_ that you shouldn’t go there!”

Arthur only smirks.

“What? Scared of the isolated house at the corner of the neighborhood?”

Merlin sputters, and Arthur takes that as his cue to continue up the incline to the front porch. The porch light is off now, so he can’t see his friends. Strange. Were they always off? He could have sworn the porch light was brightly shining a second ago. Arthur doesn’t get that much time to think of it though because Merlin decides to shake out of his sputtering and run after him.

“I’m not scared, clotpole! This house is isolated for a reason, and it shouldn’t be disturbed.”

“What are you nattering on about? It’s just a house and—wait, what did you just call me?”

“Not important.” The nerve! “What is important that whatever is in that house is dangerous and is using these... _full bars_ to lure you inside just like it did to your friends!”

Arthur is _really_ starting to get annoyed by this guy. First he calls him a prat, then a clotpole? What is his deal? 

“Look, I know it’s Halloween and all, but I’m pretty sure...this is just a regular house that gives out full bars. Also, how do you _still_ not know what those are? Did your parents only give you fun-sized or something? That’s pretty sad, now that I think about it. You’re missing out.”

Merlin’s cheeks flush and Arthur can tell that the boy is restraining himself from saying something. 

Most likey, a great many things. 

That may not be appropriate. 

Okay, maybe Arthur went a bit too far about the fun-sized thing, but seriously, what is his deal? If anything, Merlin was probably told that this house is haunted or whatever just so he wouldn’t go there for the full bars.

When the duo reached the porch, the lights went on. Arthur had to blink a bit since he was just in the dark moments before. After gathering his bearings, he looked around the oddly silent porch and found...nothing. Just an empty, silent, friendless porch.

Huh...this is fine.

Did they already receive the candy and continue trick-or-treating without him? Arthur wouldn’t be surprised. What with Gwaine’s energetic nature added with the Smith siblings’ competitive nature for collecting candy. They might have left him behind on accident, also. Arthur would’ve thought that they’d at least wait. Maybe that’s why the porch light went off again.

“Rats,” Merlin mutters. Arthur frowns and looks back at the witch boy. 

“What?”

Merlin huffs and fiddles with his torn sleeve. 

“This was what I’ve been trying to _tell_ you. It’s not normal at all! Listen, it’s—”

“Why hello there!”

There’s an old woman at the door. She’s very tall, or maybe it’s just her large hair. Arthur can’t tell. Either way, she startles the both of them. Merlin squeaked and Arthur...did not.

“My, aren’t you two precious! Like little rabbits being strangled by a hunter’s strong grip.”

Eerily strange comparison...but Arthur will let it pass because it’s Halloween, and he knows that sometimes the people giving candy want to be more eccentrically spooky for the holiday. He should know since Elyan and Gwen’s dad does the same thing. Only, their dad’s antics don’t give him the instinct to run like Hell, but he digresses.

“Now, I’m afraid that my bowl is empty at the moment since that last group finished it all. They were quite the crowd. Especially that boy dressed up as a werewolf.” She giggles, and it sounds hauntingly off-key. “That boy grabbed a lot of them, he did. Caused a huge dispute between them all.”

Arthur missed all that? Of course Gwaine would do something like that. He bets it was Leon who reprimanded him or it could be Lancelot. However, that does answer Arthur’s question on whether they did get here. All of them were here, got the full bars, and left without even leaving any spares for him. 

“I hope you don’t mind waiting while I go get some more.”

Merlin nods his head fervently. Arthur’s almost sure that if he shook his head faster, it would snap off.

“No need, madame, so sorry for your low supply. We’ll just be on our—”

“We can wait.”

“ _Arthur!_ ” He hears Merlin hiss at him. Arthur doesn’t care. He wants those full bars, dangit! So what if his friends left him. He came all this way,and he is not leaving because _Mer_ lin is too scared of a house separated from the others in the neighborhood.

“Oh how lovely! I may just give you half a box for being so kind!” Brilliant. Take that Gwaine. 

The old woman claps her hands while Merlin is burning holes on the side of Arthur’s head. The woman turns inside the house and pauses. What now?

“Oh but, you know, what? It’s just so cold outside. Are you sure you don’t want to wait inside where it's warm? I promise I’ll be quick!”

Arthur frowns this time. “If you’ll be quick, then we don’t have to wait indoors. Besides, we’ve been out here for hours.” Well, Arthur has. He doesn’t know about Merlin, but it’s almost eleven. Usually, people don't start trick-or-treating that late. 

The woman nods in a stiff, uncordial way. “Yes, but that was when you were running around. You’ll begin to feel the cold standing out there for so long.”

Again, Arthur feels a rise of unease. He can’t believe that he’s starting to reconsider what Merlin said before. It’s a ridiculous theory, at best, but it could have some merit anyway. If so, Arthur is beginning to think that his friends never left this house.

“You just said you would be quick,” Merlin replies. His arms are crossed and he stares up at the woman raising an eyebrow. 

The old woman’s brow twitches. Yeah, the alarm bells are definitely ringing.

“Well, dear child, it all depends on if I am able to find them fast enough. Of course, I’m just not at that age anymore.” She sighs, placing a wrinkled hand on her cheek. Were her nails always that sharp and long? “Sometimes, I fear my memory gets a little splotchy. You younglings just don’t understand the struggles that come from being old. You’re fresh...like a ripe tomato or a delectable piglet.”

Okay! If Arthur hadn’t already been considering it, those comparisons are a red flag enough! As much as Arthur now wants to be _very_ far away from this woman, he knows his friends are in danger. They came to this house just before him in hopes of getting full bars, and now are trapped somewhere inside this house. He has to go in.

“You are definitely right, madam.” He hears Merlin hissing at him again. “It has gotten a little nippy outside. I’m sure we can wait indoors while you restock your candy bowl.”

The woman grins. Her lips are stretched so thin, Arthur’s surprised that they haven't split yet. She turns back to go inside and Arthur follows. Merlin tugs on his sleeve last minute, though.

“What are you thinking?” Merlin exclaims in a hushed tone. “I swear, if this is about the full bars, I am going to scream—”

“This isn’t about the bars, you idiot! Not after _that!_ ”

“Then why are you going inside!”

Arthur turns fully to Merlin. The hat is titled now, close to obscuring his vision on Merlin’s left side. The look on the witch boy’s face is stormy. His blue eyes alight and fiery. Arthur holds his gaze and stares down with his own stormy expression. (Well, he hopes it’s stormy.)

“My friends were just here, and I don’t remember seeing— or hearing, actually, Gwaine is pretty loud— any of my friends leave this house. She’s hiding them somewhere and we’re going to find them.”

Merlin is quiet for a while. His expression morphs to one of exasperation then understanding and sighs.

“Okay, fine. I’ll help you find your friends, but we have to be quick about this. Who knows how long she’ll be ‘restocking’ her candy bowl.”

Arthur feels his stomach uncoil with relief. He doesn’t know if he could wander around this house on his own. He won’t let Merlin know that, though.

“Great, any ideas on where to start first?”

Merlin hums in consideration then snaps his fingers.

“The basement might be our best bet.”

“Oh fun, let’s definitely start in the most horror movie cliche location.”

“The what?”

Arthur looks over at Merlin, who blinks back. He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. Merlin still looks innocently confused.

“Horror...movie?”

“You have _got_ to be kidding me.”

  
  
  


And so, the duo quietly sneaked to where the basement door was. Neither of them knew where exactly the basement was, but they were in too deep to back out now.

Both of them would always check behind their backs to ensure that the old woman wasn’t right behind them. It didn’t help that the rest of the house was dark and empty just like how it was outside. Almost everything in this house is decomposed. The wind easily slips through the cracks, the walls are covered in mold, and all the rooms look like their rotting. The stench is awful as well, like soured milk mixed with sewage water and last week’s dinner. Arthur does his best to ignore the smell. Merlin looks unfazed by it all though as they continue wandering around the hall. He really is weird.

“It better not be near the kitchen,” Arthur mutters to distract himself. 

Merlin nods as he closes the door beneath the stairs. Fortunately, it doesn’t creak. Actually, now that Arthur thinks about it, none of the doors they have opened made any noise. The floors don't even squeak when stepped on despite how decomposed they look. Everything is quiet. A nice advantage to have when venturing the house of what Arthur assumes is a cannibal. 

“Do you want to check just in case?” Merlin whispers.

“It wouldn’t hurt.” Except for the fact that the old woman is likely in there doing who knows what and wants to eat them. “We’ll have to be quick about it, though.”

Merlin rolls his eyes as they turn back to where the kitchen resides. 

“No, let me take the rest of the night in the one place where she most likely is and pray we don’t get caught.” The boy sighs. “I’m not an idiot, and who put you in charge? I know what I’m doing.”

“Sure, witch boy-” 

“Stop calling me that!”

“-so far, your plan has been to open every door in this house, including the ones upstairs to find the basement. See any flaws in that plan?”

“Well— we haven’t even _been_ upstairs!”

“Because I said _that_ part of the plan is stupid.”

Merlin mutters something about prattish humans and not respecting other’s plans, but Arthur ignores it. 

The kitchen light is on, but no shadows or sounds to indicate if she’s still inside. Good for them since that means they can sneak in without the fear of being seen, but also bad because now they have no clue where she is. Maybe she’s in the basement. Arthur hopes not.

“See any doors?”

“Just the one for the fridge.”

“Well,” Arthur breathes out, “guess we have to venture in to see more.”

“Guess so.” Merlin fixes his hat and nods to Arthur.

The kitchen also looks decomposed. Scraped off yellow paint on the counters, ripped off red wallpaper, and black soot on the ceiling. Mold and mildew cover most of the tile floor and the stove is black with grease. The burning smell from the burners is awful, and Arthur hopes that the acrid smell is solely from the smoke mixing with the mildew. Once he finds his friends and gets out of here, Arthur is going straight home and having hot cocoa. 

“Arthur!”

Arthur turns to Merlin who is frantically pointing at a door to the far right. Unlike the white door they entered in, this door is black and looks the most put together out of the whole kitchen. When Arthur walks over to Merlin, the witch boy opens it and inside are stairs leading down to a pitch black basement. 

This is fine.

“Alright then, guess we better go down.” Arthur goes to step down the stairway.

“Are you out of your mind!” Merlin hisses, grabbing Arthur’s arm and yanking him back into the kitchen

Arthur frowns confused.

“We made it to the basement, and my friends are down there. Let’s go save them.”

“Yes, but look, we could be blindly handing ourselves over to that lady for all we know! I know your friends are down there, but we need a plan if we want to get them and us out of here alive.”

“And how exactly are you going to do that, Merlin?”

“Magic of course.”

“Magic? Look, I know you’re dressed up as a witch, but you must know that magic isn’t real.”

“I’m not dressed up! I am a— oh forget it. So, what’s the big plan, _sire.”_

“Thank you for asking, _Mer_ lin. Obviously, we have to be careful where we step since those floors look like they might snap off. As for the chance if she’s down there, one of us will have to distract her while the other frees my friends.”

“Okay, so I distract while you free your friends?,'' says Merlin nodding his head. 

Arthur blinks at Merlin who’s looking back. Merlin is a scrawny kid compared to Arthur, but has no hesitation to volunteer himself as bait to distract someone who, quite frankly, will be giving Arthur nightmares later.

“Are you sure? I can distract her while you free them.”

Merlin shakes his head and turns to face the dark stairway.

“They’re your friends, Arthur. I know you’re worried about them. Besides, I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve.”

“Is it magic?” Arthur jokes, lifting an eyebrow at him.

Merlin only smiles. His blue eyes gleam with mischief and Arthur feels himself relax just for a minute. With newfound determination, the two of them headed down the dark staircase.

  
  
  


The old woman was down there, of course. Thankfully, her back was to the duo, but in front of her was a huge cauldron with blue flames flaring beneath it. With each odd ingredient the woman threw, the liquid inside changed color. Neon green to a pale pink to purple to orange. If he wasn’t so concerned about finding his friends, Arthur would have found it fascinating, but now wasn’t the time to be frozen staring at a color changing cauldron soup.

At the far corner he spots a giant cage, and inside it, his friends. None of them appear hurt from where he stands, but with how dark it is, they could be. He hopes not. Leon is the one who spots him first unsurprisingly. He was always the attentive and observant one out of the group. Arthur sees him minutely shake his head. He ignores it though. They’re his friends. As if he would abandon them.

He looks over at Merlin who nods. Arthur is far enough away to not be noticed by the woman if she turns over to Merlin.

Here’s to hoping that their plan works. 

“I thought you said you would be quick.”

Her hands still while the cauldron bubbles a ripe red. She turns around, stretching her lips into that thin smile. Maybe it’s just the bright color of the soup...thing, but her hair appears to look an even darker red, similar to blood. Not to mention her wrinkles seem more pronounced than they did when Arthur was standing on her porch. 

He hears the woman respond with something creepy about piglets, and Merlin answers with a snark. 

Focus.

Arthur shakes his head and continues to the cage. Now that he’s closer, he can see his friends better and fortunately, no one has any bruises or scratches. Arthur sighs inwardly. He doesn’t know what he would’ve done if he found any of them hurt. He crouches over to where Leon is. So far he’s the only one who’s conscious.

“Everyone okay?”

Leon nods. “Yeah, she knocked us out with something the minute we got inside.”

Arthur shakes his head mockingly. “What are you doing going in stranger’s houses Leon. You’re twelve years old. Now a ten year old has to save your sorry hide.”

Leon rolls his eyes and smiles though it’s too stiff in Arthur’s opinion. Leon has always been the most level-headed of the group, so to see him unnerved (even though he’s doing his best to hide it) only adds to Arthur’s nerves.

“You came inside this house, too.”

“Yeah, to save you guys. Think you can wake them up while I get the padlock open?”

Arthur hears Leon give a soft huff when he goes to the padlock at the door. It’s also rusty with metal peeling off the edges. It’s too late to find a key, and Arthur doesn’t know how long Merlin will be able to keep the woman’s attention away from the cage.

Arthur considers ripping the lock right off. It’s already close to crumbling. Maybe, a simple yank will cause it to turn to dust. As he pulls on the lock harshly, he hears a shrill yell from the otherside of the room. Arthur snaps his attention to where the sound came from, praying that the woman didn’t get to Merlin. He sees her bending over and holding her wrist tightly.

“You insolent _child!_ How dare you believe you can stop me from completing my ritual! I am no mere old lady. I am someone who can make the earth tremble, I am centuries old, I am not to be trifled with!”

A scoff is echoed through the room.

“Is that why you’re getting handed to by a kid? Some _powerful_ being.”

At least Merlin’s okay. Not like Arthur was concerned. He focuses on his task. It appears that yanking the padlock does not cause it to crumble, so that idea is a dud. He looks around the stone floor for anything thin and sharp like a needle or screw.

“Here.”

Arthur looks up and finds a conscious Guinevere with an outstretched hand holding a pin. It seems Leon got everyone awake because he can see Gwaine looking at where the woman is. Her batgirl mask is gone and the carefully done hair Gwen would fuss over earlier is undone and dusty. Still, her resolve doesn’t break when she looks at Arthur.

“My mother gave me some extra bobby pins in case the ones I'm wearing fall off. See if you can use this to unlock it.”

“Thank you.”

She smiles brightly and walks over to Elyan. She fusses over him while he rubs at his eyes.

Arthur looks back at the padlock and inserts the pin into the lock. Arthur thanks the stars that Gwaine had taught all of them how to pick locks no matter how adverse to it he was in the beginning. In a couple seconds, Arthur hears a click, and the padlock falls to the floor. A sigh of relief comes from the whole group.

Then a cackle echoes through the room. Right. Creepy, cannibal lady.

Arthur slowly opens the door to ensure it makes no sound, and his friends quickly exit. Luckily, the staircase is right in front of them. They quietly sprint towards it.

Arthur looks around for Merlin. As annoying the witch boy can be, Arthur wouldn’t wish to see him caught by her. He can hear the woman calling for him in that haunting sing-song voice, but Merlin does not snark back this time. 

“Oh sweetie...where did you go? Come out, come out...come out little piglet.”

Arthur shudders. He’s definitely going to have nightmares of this.

“I see you got your friends,” says a hushed voice.

Arthur did not jump. He didn’t. 

“ _Merlin!”_ He shakes his head. This kid is going to be the bane of his existence, isn’t he. “Yeah, they're climbing up the stairs, let's go.”

He sees the silhouette of Merlin nod and the two of them creep up the staircase, hoping the woman will continue to call aimlessly into the dark.

Once out of the basement, all of the children run out of the house and don’t stop running until they reach Arthur’s home. They're all gasping for breath. Gwaine collapses to the floor.

“Never... again. Never again am I listening to my brothers.”

“When I see your brothers again, Gwaine,” Elyan gasps out, “I am going to kill them.”

“Seconded,” Lancelot breathes out.

Gwaine lifts his hand to wave it in agreement. “I wouldn’t blame you.”

“By the way,” gasps Guinevere, looking at a flushed Merlin, “who are you.”

“Oh, I’m Merlin,” He reaches out his hand to her. She smiles and shakes his hands.

“Guinevere Smith, but you can call me Gwen.” 

“Well, Merlin!” Gwaine jumps up and slides an arm behind Merlin. “Thank you for helping our princess and rescuing us.”

Arthur rolls his eyes.

“Again with princess? I already told you to stop calling me that.”

“Sure, princess.” Jerk.

Merlin laughs and looks over at Arthur amused then back to Gwaine.

“He does look like a princess.”

“See! Thank you, Merls. I will remember this day. The day Merlin confirmed that Arthur was a princess.”

“We were almost some cannibal’s food,” Elyan points out.

“And I’m ignoring that. As you should too.”

“Alright, it’s late as it is. We should all head home,” Leon says, pointing to his watch. The numbers flash with the time: 11:35. 

Crap. He promised his mother that he would be home before then. Arthur looks towards his house. The porch lights are still on and though the blinds cover the large window next to the door, he can see a sliver of light. Looks like she’s still awake. Maybe Father is back home from work, too.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Merlin.” Arthur hears Guinivere say to Merlin who smiles in return. “I just wish it was under better circumstances, you know…” She coughs and grabs Elyan’s hand as they follow Lancelot back to their homes.

“Bye Gwen!” Merlin waves then says goodbye to Gwaine and Percival with Arthur and Leon.

When Leon leaves, it’s just Merlin and Arthur. Both of them stand in front of Arthur’s home quietly waiting for the other to speak. Even though it’s near midnight, Arthur can still hear people out in the streets. After all that’s happened that night, Arthur is glad for the sound of other people and looks up to find the moon in all its glory. 

“I should probably go inside. I was supposed to back earlier...I hope Mum isn’t worried.”

Merlin nods and looks back at the neighborhood.

“Will I see you again?” Arthur gets out. Though it was barely a whisper, Merlin still hears it and smirks.

“What? Are you going to miss me a lot?” He grins wide, showing his white teeth that reflect from the moon.

“N-no! It’s just— well, look… there’s something about you, Merlin. I can’t quite put my finger on it. That’s all.”

“Okay princess.”

Arthur grumbles while Merlin laughs. Eventually, Arthur sighs and adjusts the sack on his shoulder.

“Uh… see you, then?”

“Yeah,” Merlin nods, “Until then.”

Arthur walks to his front porch and presses the doorbell. He looks back to see if Merlin is still there, but all that’s behind him is pavement. 

When his mother opens the doors, he lets her hug him as tight as she wants, and if his hug lingers longer than usual, neither of them mention it. He asks for cocoa and when the hot chocolate is ready, both of them snuggle into the couch. _Hocus Pocus_ is playing on a channel his mother left on the television and they watch it together. Both of them stay on the couch watching the channel until they fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I know it isn’t Halloween anymore and we are well past it, but I saw the fanart on Halloween and just felt compelled to write this. I was also reading a lot of childhood friend Merthur fics during this time sooooo....yeah. Part two is in progress at the moment but I hoped to post it soon. I’m on break rn, so hopefully, it will give me more time since I won’t also be focusing on school anymore. 
> 
> I hope y’all liked it! And let me know about any errors made whether minor or major.
> 
> Please leave a kudo and comment if you enjoyed it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Griffins and veils and afancs- oh my!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry I wasn't able to post this earlier. Even though I was on break, I didn't have as much time to work on this as I thought. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter of Witch Boy!  
> (yes, I did add another chapter for this pre-planned two part fic...plans change)

Arthur never saw Merlin after that night. Thankfully, Halloween was on a Friday, so he could search around the neighborhood for the odd witch boy. No matter which house he went to, the parks he scoured, there was no Merlin anywhere. It was like he vanished from thin air. But that just _can’t_ be possible. People don’t just pop up one day, warn you about the (now arrested) cannibalistic lady, then poof from existence.

For the whole weekend, Arthur looked for Merlin, but whenever his mother or friends asked him, he would deny it. Gwaine jokingly said that Merlin was actually a ghost. A troubled soul who was one of the lady’s first victims, but shut up after Gwen began to cry. Elyan was not happy about that.

Soon, the weekend ended, and Arthur had to continue on with school, though schoolwork was the farthest thing from his mind. It took until Christmas for him to believe that searching for Merlin was useless. Sometimes, he wonders if there even _was_ a boy with him when he saved his friends. Maybe he invented the odd boy in his head to help him not feel as alone in a dark, abandoned house searching for his kidnapped friends. Arthur hated that thought.

Despite the ten year old’s inner turmoil, the world continued on as normal. Eventually, Arthur forgot about Merlin. Sometimes, he would stay up and think of the brown-haired witch with those really bright eyes, but other than that, finding Merlin and bombarding him with questions on where he’s been isn't as important to Arthur anymore. 

There’s no full moon this Halloween. But this year, it’s on a Saturday, so he can spend all of Halloween with his friends and figuring out a better game plan on which houses to go to. 

“You know, my brothers were talking about this old couple that—”

“And I’m stopping you right there,” Elyan says, placing a hand on Gwaine’s shoulder. “ _Last time,_ if you remember, your brothers led us to an abandoned house where a cannibal lived. No full bars anywhere and we were all scarred.”

Gwaine shudders. 

“Right, yeah… good point.”

It wasn’t that hard to plan out which houses to go to, which to avoid; most of them have been living in this neighborhood all their life. Figuring out whether a house gave toothbrushes and those weird candied popcorn balls wasn’t that hard to remember. 

The group agreed to start early, so to have more opportunities at the popular homes. It was a normal Halloween, much to Arthur’s discontent. No matter where they ventured in the neighborhood, he couldn’t find Merlin. Arthur knows that just because it’s Halloween doesn’t mean he’ll actually show up. He’s already tried looking for him and it always led to dead ends. 

But for some reason, today felt different. Maybe it was because the wind sounds like it’s whispering to him. Maybe it was because the sky seemed more magical as the sun sets. Maybe it was because Arthur never really gave up on finding Merlin. He always searched no matter if he told his friends that he didn’t think Merlin was really there. He always searched whenever he saw a head of brown hair that turned out to not be the bright eyed witch boy.

Arthur kept looking even when he, himself, stopped believing.

They were at the last house when it happened. Everyone just got down the steps when a loud squawk is heard overhead. Squawk is probably the wrong word for it. Arthur thinks that it sounded like a possessed herd of geese flying overhead, but the sound of flapping wings made it feel like there was only one giant bird flying above. 

Definitely odd.

Thankfully, for Arthur’s sake, everyone else also jumped in surprise to the demonic sound of a giant flying creature. 

“Well,” Percival whistles, “someone is getting _really_ into their halloween decorations. Got sound effects and everything.”

“Oh, I can assure you,” says a familiar voice, “that was not sound effects.”

Arthur spun around in surprise. He can’t believe it. Right in front of him. Same height, same shabby clothes (he seriously needs to either pick a new costume or add more flare to this whole witch thing), and same bright, mischievous, blue eyes.

“Hey! It’s Witch Boy!” Gwaine exclaims and hugs him. He gives out an “oomf!” which is a classic reaction from being hugged by Gwaine. “Tell us then, how are you? Where have you been--”

“Merlin!” Arthur finally lets out...a bit too loud.

Merlin, still trapped in Gwaine’s hug, moves his head over to face Arthur and smiles.

“Hello, prat.”

“Not a prat, idiot.”

Merlin just continues to smile as if he can see right through Arthur. Once Gwaine lets go, Gwen goes on to hug him and soon the rest of the gang give Merlin hugs, pats, and hair ruffles. Of course all of that is ruined by the demented screaching. 

“Right,” Merlin fixes his blue, pointy hat. “About that… you called it a sound effects?”

Quickly, Merlin informs them all that, no, the screeching sound from above is not a herd of demonic geese but a full grown griffin. 

How fun.

“So… is the griffin a danger to us?” asks Lancelot.

Merlin shakes his head and starts to fuss with his sleeves. Arthur notices a thinly wrapped bracelet on his wrist. It seems to be one strand of metal wound around the wrist with a pale crystal dangling at the top. It must be new, seeing how Arthur doesn’t remember seeing it last year.

“Not really. It just isn’t supposed to be here. Of course with today being when the Veil is open, _something_ just had to get out.”

 _When the Veil is open?_ What is Merlin talking about? Griffins, open veils… all of this is too much. However, no one gets a chance to ask Merlin what exactly _is_ the Veil because he quickly moves to a plan on how to send the griffin back inside before anyone gets hurt.

“Everybody got that?”

No. No, everybody didn’t.

“Great!” Merlin claps his hands together, and for a second Arthur swears they spark. “Now, let’s see if we can get this giant bird out of here!”

After hours of herding the beast, getting their costumes dirtied and ripped, they were finally able to lead the griffin safely away from the neighborhood and into the wood where a portal ripped open for the creature to enter.

“So… that really happened.”

Merlin giggles. “Of course it did. I was with you the whole time, yeah?”

“Right, right, I just...need a minute.”

You know, because seeing the air in front of you split open into a swirling portal that the griffin flew into can be a lot for anyone to take in. Who knew griffins were that big. Arthur almost got smacked by its tail earlier. Still, Arthur just saw a griffin. A real, alive, flying griffin. Arthur knows he feels a bit faint but does his best to stay awake. His father always told him to be strong and never show weakness to others. 

Gwaine and Elyan had fainted just at the sight of the creature. Merlin, though, he beamed and bounced with so much energy that Arthur didn’t think was possible.

“So, what now?” Leon says. He was the only one who looked calm, and Arthur can’t say that he isn’t jealous. Although, Leon did squeal when the griffin’s wings almost smacked him, so there’s that.

“Go to more houses?” Percival offered.

Gwen shook her head and motioned to her and her brother’s baskets full of candy. “We’ve already been to so many and I know that Arthur’s sack will explode if we add anymore to it.”

“Hey, my sack can hold anything! But, uh-” He gulps at the glare given to him by Gwen. “-we don’t need to go to more houses. How about… we stop at mine? If that’s alright of course.”

Everyone nods (including Gwaine and Elyan who are well awake by then). Arthur turns to Merlin, who stands close to where the veil once was. The wind isn’t as harsh as it was minutes ago, but it’s still there, blowing Merlin’s tattered robes to and fro. As usual, Merlin is looking off into the woods, inside his own head with his hat covering his expression. Arthur bets it’s one where he looks idiotic with that soft smile and closed eyes.

“Witch Boy!” That gets his attention. Merlin jumps abruptly and stumbles to turn toward Arthur. “We’re all coming to my house!”

There’s a small pause as Merlin scrunches his face at Arthur confused.

“Okay…? And?”

Arthur sighs heavily. He hears Leon and Gwen chastising him for being nicer, but it's Merlin.

“You’re coming too, of course!”

“I am?”

Arthur huffs at Merlin’s surprised expression. He really can be dense.

“What do you think _of course_ means? Yes, you’re coming _Mer_ lin, and you can’t back out. It’s not allowed.”

He can see Merlin’s cheeks puff up and his foot stamps on the dead leaves.

“I know what that means, clotpole!”

“Then come on! You’ll be the last one there and miss my mother’s hot chocolate at this rate!”

Merlin hurried over to Arthur and gave him a shove. Arthur being Arthur, shoved him back but harder. This continued on until they reached Arthur’s home. His mother greeted all of them, gave them hugs or hair ruffles (much to Arthur’s chagrin) and set to making her infamous hot cocoa.

  
  
  


It happened like this every Halloween. Merlin would show up to hang out with Arthur and the gang or to warn them about some magical problem that leaked from the veil. The year after the griffin, some pixies were creating havoc. Then it was a unicorn. Arthur remembers Merlin being so entranced by it, but he can’t blame the guy because the unicorn was beautiful. Arthur likes that something magical always happens on Halloween even if some of them aren’t exactly fun.

Some years later, one of his cousins (Arthur isn’t sure from which family) moves in since her father was a good friend of Arthur’s. Her name is Morgana, and Arthur quickly finds out that she is a harpy.

Always getting him into trouble. Crying at the right moments to get at his parents’ heartstrings so she gets away with everything. Arthur hates it. 

That is until he beats her at chess.

“You cheated.” Is all she says. Arthur can’t help but grin at her smugly. 

They try checkers next, and he beats her there too. Arthur likes to count that as the best day of his life. They keep playing chess for the rest of the day, and eventually, Arthur starts to teach her better moves to play until she finally beats him near midnight. Arthur can’t find it in him to be upset and celebrates with her.

Soon, all of her “devilish” pranks and plans, Arthur is in on them too. He adds more details in her plans. Never do their pranks ever lead back to the two of them. It was nice having someone else around who wasn’t staff or his mother as company. He had his friends, yes, but they could only stay for a short while. Sometimes there were sleepovers, but eventually, they had to go back to their own home. Having Morgana around was like having a little sister around to pick on, protect, and plan pranks with.

She fit into the gang instantly, much to Arthur’s relief, becoming fast friends with Gwen and Leon. All Arthur needed was Merlin, and their group would be complete.

When Halloween came that year, Arthur found Merlin waiting by his fence as usual. Quickly, he ran up to him. Mother made him late again with all her fussing on his costume. He was dressed, this time, as a Camelot knight which is different from the other knights he dressed as years before, thank you very much.

“Sorry, did you have to wait long?”

Merlin shook his head causing his hat to tip to the right. “Nah, I just got here.”

Arthur sighed in relief and looked up at the sky. “Ah man!”

“What wrong?” Merlin frowned.

“It’s just… I know this sounds silly, but I was _really_ hoping that it would be a full moon this year. Halloween always seems more mystical when it does.”

Merlin hums and nods then quickly looks over at Arthur’s porch. “Say, is that your mother calling you?”

Quickly, Arthur turns to his porch but doesn’t hear his mother at all. All he sees is Morgana exiting the house in her “Empress” costume. He looks back to Merlin who wears his sheepish, I-swear-I’m-innocent face. Then he looks back at the sky and gasps.

Up in the sky isn’t the curvy crescent moon Arthur just saw. Instead is a bright, full moon shining in it’s silver glory. Arthur can’t believe it.

“How-how did this happen? Wasn’t it just small a second ago?”

Merlin hums again with his hand on his chin in a contemplating way. 

“That really is strange...Well! Shall we go?”

Arthur nods but his attention is still at the moon.

“Arthur! You’re mum said that you can’t leave without me!” 

“Who are you?”

“I’m Morgana. Who are you?”

Arthur snaps from his trance and begins to introduce Merlin and Morgana to each other. Though there was a small hostile hiccup, the two start to get along.

“I haven’t seen you around, Merlin. Do you live farther away or something?” Morgana asks after they meet up with the rest of the group.

“You could say that,” Merlin says with that secretive smile of his.

“Do you visit often?”

“Only on Halloween.”

“Why?”

Merlin shrugs and continues on their trek through the neighborhood. Later, their trick-or-treating would be interrupted by an afanc terrorizing the fountain in the park. It was Morgana’s first experience with magical creatures and would not stop talking about how magic is real and if she’ll get to see them again. 

It was also the night Arthur realized that Merlin _wasn’t_ joking when he said he could do magic. Merlin called him dense for that, but Arthur got him back by shoving him into the fountain.

After that, the gang decided not to go trick-or-treating on Halloween, but go “monster hunting” instead. (Yes, this was Morgana’s idea.) Now, they would split off into small groups of three and scour the neighborhood for any magical creatures that left the Veil. Unsurprisingly, being grouped with Merlin meant that they attracted most of the magical creatures, but that made it easier since Merlin could summon the veil and let them pass through.

Gwaine likes to joke that they could create their own monster hunting YouTube channel, but Gwen would pipe in that it wouldn’t be as popular seeing how most of the monsters come out on Halloween. Gwaine would then grumble about spoil sports and just wanting to document their adventures. The next year, Percival brought his video cameras- one for each group. They never created a YouTube channel, but with the amount of recorded events they had, Arthur wouldn’t be surprised if Gwaine and Percival made one. 

Even as they grew older and went to college, the gang would always come back on Halloween and go hunting for “monsters.” Of course, they found a way to contact Merlin, and Arthur makes sure to text him everyday. None of the group knows where exactly Merlin is from and why he can only visit on Halloween. Arthur has heard many of Morgana’s theories as to why.

(“Think about it, Arthur. Why only Halloween? Why is our neighborhood the only place that has these problems?”

Morgana drapes herself over Arthur’s bed, leaving no room for Arthur to sit on. He breathes out a sigh and sits on his desk chair. She points her manicured nails at him as she rants about today’s theory on why Merlin can only visit once a year. 

“Morgana, I’m sure that other places have the same issues as ours. The Veil can open anywhere. Merlin said it’s just this day that makes it open, not a special place.”

He sees Morgana perk up and turn around on the bed so her stomach is towards the floor. Her dark hair falling on her face making her look slightly deranged. Arthur knows that Gwen would call this messy look on Morgana beautiful, but Arthur has a hard time associating anything _beautiful_ with his sister. Terrifying? Absolutely.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you didn’t _listen_ to Merlin when he goes on about the…”

“Morgana,” Arthur sighed.

“What did you call it? Ah, right,”

“Mor _gana,_ ” Arthur hissed. He is not in the mood for this.

“The _hocus pocus thingy_. But instead you do and just pretend not to. Aw, is Wartie really a softie for--”

“Shut up, ‘Gana! It’s not like that!” Already, he can feel his cheeks heating up, and Morgana little grin is enough to know that she saw it too.

“Sure it’s not.”)

Whether any of her theories are true or not doesn’t matter too much to Arthur because, without fail, Merlin will always be there with him on Halloween. Whether early or late, Merlin will be there.

“Do you remember the ogre?” asks Percival.

Leon groans and Gwaine squeals at the memory.

“Oh you bet, mate. How could I not!”

“I could, I would definitely want that memory erased from my mind,” Leon mutters next to Arthur. Arthur pats Leon on the back and does his best not to laugh along with Gwaine. 

The ogre. Looking back, Arthur finds it hilarious, but at the time--

_“MERLIN, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, CAST THE SPELL!”_

_“I told you, Arthur. Spells like these take time! I can’t just magic a portal and wisk Leon’s beloved away!”_

_“Please don’t call her that,” sighs a distraught Leon. “I was drunk and it was three in the morning. I’m not doing anything like this ever again”_

_“SHUT UP, LEON!”_

\--yeah… that was a stressful time.

“Cheer up, Leon,” Elyan says as he slides into their booth, Lancelot trailing behind him. They’re at their usual pub, _The Rising Sun,_ and, unfortunately, it’s crowded more than usual. Thankfully, Leon came in early (like the meticulous man he is) and saved the booth for them all. 

“Say, Arthur?”

Arthur grunts in response as he reaches for his drink. Leon is back to being his dignified self again, so his arms are free to drink.

“Did Merlin get a chance to let you know he’s coming?” He hears Gwaine snicker and from the corner of his eye, see Percival roll his own at whatever Gwaine said.

“You have his number, right?” Elyan nods. “There’s your answer. Ask him yourself.”

Arthur doesn’t understand why his friends always ask _him_ if Merlin is coming. It’s not like the two of them talk that much. Sure, the moment Arthur got a phone, he immediately went to Merlin the next Halloween to gift the witch his own phone and exchange numbers with the rest of the group. But that was only because he couldn’t stand their past communication of sending letters through birds. They would always scratch him or give his mother quite a freight if they swooped in from nowhere. 

Elyan sighs and turns to Lancelot exasperated. Arthur doesn’t bother to understand his theatrics. Honestly, Gwaine’s done worse.

“Yeah, but Merlin always leaves me on read. When he does answer, it’s just short responses. Don’t you two… have long conversations all the time-” (in the far distance of the other side of the booth, Gwaine whispers, “Whipped.”) “-and you always respond to him, so… maybe he’ll let you know?”

Arthur sighs and drinks his beer. Finally he relents. Those dumb Smith siblings and their caring eyes that seem like they can see through your soul.

“Yeah, Merlin said he was coming and to save him a seat. I already ordered for him, too.”

Gwaine perks up.

“Did you?” His grin is wide and cheshire like. Arthur knows that the next things out of Gwaine’s mouth won’t be anything good. At least, not for him. “What do you say, Elyan? My money’s on two weeks.”

O...kay..? Not where Arthur thought Gwaine was going to take this conversation.

He hears Elyan chuckle. “Two weeks? Never thought you were one to hope when it came to this.” 

Arthur is very lost on what these two are talking about.

“Oh believe me,” pipes in Percival, “When it comes to them, Gwaine can’t help but have hope. You should hear him going on about it all day.”

That gets some laughs out of everyone but Arthur, who is still confused as to what is going on.

“Of course, _you_ would know about what Gwaine goes on about everyday, wouldn’t you,” Leon teases. Percival flushes while Gwaine only giggles and snuggles more into the man’s giant frame.

Alright. Teasing Percival about his crush on Gwaine. Arthur knows that. Well, maybe Arthur shouldn’t say crush since the two of them are dating now. However, Percival still gets embarrassed when the gang teases him and Gwaine about their relationship. Gwaine finds it adorable and never loses the chance to show them off when the teasing starts.

When Leon goes to buy them another round, Arthur notices that Elyan is short a few more people.

“Weren’t Morgana and Gwen with you?”

Elyan winces and rubs his necks. “They were… but, well--”

“They decided to spend Halloween alone… together… after a heavy makeout session right in front of us.” Lancelot looks slightly haunted. The rest of the boys nod in understanding. Personally, when it came to PDA-obsessed couples, Arthur had assumed that Percival and Gwaine would be number one on that list but nope. Turns out, his sister and Gwen can’t ever seem to get their hands off each other. Sometimes, they forget where they are and who they’re with, so the constant kissing gets a little bit more… _heated_.

Thankfully, the conversation shifts to Percival and Lancelot’s job at a hardware store. Somehow, they get on the topic of dragons and whether one would ever come out from the Veil. It is here how Merlin finds them: almost drunk off their asses debating the existence of the Fae.

“I’m telling you, Leon,” slurs Lancelot, “they probably wouldn’t need to use the Veil to get here. You hear stories about them popping up when it’s not even close to…what was the other name Halloween has?”

“Samhain, you mean?”

“Yes, yes, Samhain.” Lancelot bobs his head and the witch giggles at the sight. “Thank you, Merlin.”

A pause.

“MERLIN!”

“Where have you been?”

“Buddy! How you been?”

“What took you so long, idiot!”

Merlin just smiles and slides into the seat next to Arthur. He still wears that ragged, blue hat as always though this time, there’s no robes to be seen. Instead, he wears a light brown jacket, a loose blue shirt with a red scarf wrapped around his neck. It’s a nice look on him, Arthur can concede, even if it _still_ looks like something Merlin just threw on. If they ever get the chance, Arthur is taking Merlin out to buy some real clothes that actually look fashionable.

“Good to see you too, your royal highness.”

Arthur rolls his eyes and gives Merlin his drink. For a brief second, their fingers touch. Only for a short moment, Arthur can feel how warm Merlin's hands are, but it ends just as it starts. Merlin brings the bottle to his full lips and the feeling of his hands are gone.

“So, you guys talking about the Fair Folk? You should be careful about what you say because they might not like it. For example--”

“Come on, _Mer_ lin! It’s just harmless fun. Besides,” Arthur leans closer to Merlin. From here, he can see a small ring of gold around the witch’s blue irises. From here, Merlin’s eyes are so blue. Like the clear sky in mid-morning. Not light but not deep either. Arthur can feel Merlin’s breath as he giggles. “We’ll have you to bust us out of trouble, right?”

Merlin huffs and shrugs Arthur off of him. Arthur falls onto Leon with an “oomf.”

“Glad to see how you really feel about me. I thought our friendship was stronger than that.” Merlin sighs theatrically and pretends to nurse his beer bottle. “You just want me for my magic.”

Gwaine gives out a giggle and leans forward. “Don’t worry, Merls. Magic isn’t the _only_ thing Arthur wants.” He wags his eyebrows and Arthur feels his face flush, though sober him would deny it.

“Come off it, Gwaine,” Arthur somehow stutters out. “You’re drunk.”

“Aye,” he hiccups, “but at least I’m not in denial.”

You know what? Arthur is finding new friends. Friends who don’t call him out like that. Arthur is perfectly fine with where things are. No need to say anything that might ruin it.

“Alright, that’s enough booze for you.” Percival takes Gwaine’s bottle and hands him a glass of water. Where did the water come from? Maybe it was Leon. Or Lancelot.

The rest of the night was spent rehashing their year to Merlin (who knew most of what happened because Arthur tells him everything). After catching up, the gang thought it’d be fun to ask Merlin about the Veil and what goes in and out. Turns out Lancelot was right in thinking that the Fae wouldn’t need to use the Veil to leave the otherworld called Avalon. 

Once it got close to midnight, the gang decided to call it a night and head back to their dorms. Leon was sober enough to drive them all to their designated places. Percival had to carry a sleeping Gwaine while Elyan and Lancelot stumbled together into their shared apartment. When they got to Arthur’s apartment, Merlin offered to help him inside.

“Leon, I know you live on the other side of the campus. I can take him, don’t worry.”

Leon sighs and shakes his head fondly. “Alright, make sure to leave some aspirin on his desk so that his hangover won’t bother him as much tomorrow.”

“I’m right _here,_ you know,” Arthur slurs out. Hanging off of Merlin’s shoulder, Arthur feels loose. Like a puppet finally cut from it’s string but now has no direction on where to go. Merlin snorts and shifts Arthur’s arm on his shoulder for a better grip.

“Of course you’re here. Anyone can tell where you are by the sound of your pratish voice.”

Arthur retaliates by butting his head on Merlin’s neck. There. That would show him.

Leon chuckles and waves one last goodbye to Merlin before driving away.

“Alright, your royal pratiness, where do I take you?”

It takes a couple stumbles but they make it to his apartment eventually. Sure, Merlin may have passed the elevator twice and almost dropped Arthur a couple more times, but they made it to his place in one piece. Arthur digs through his pocket, looking for his key but keeps missing the pocket entirely. Merlin rolls his eyes and reaches into his pocket instead. Once again, Arthur feels the warmth from Merlin's fingers. Even when they leave, the feeling lingers.

Merlin finds the key quickly and unlocks the door with the finesse of a sober person, opening the door with a “tadah!” The two of them stumble inside and Merlin drops Arthur on the couch. Arthur squawks as the cushions hit his back.

“Merlin!”

Merlin pokes his head out from the kitchen. In his hands is a glass of water and in the other a bag of chips. “What?”

He blinks at Arthur. Again, Arthur is lost, looking at Merlin’s eyes. Blue ringed with gold and absolutely beautiful. 

“Yeah?” Merlin coughs out.

Arthur snaps out of it. 

Right. 

Merlin.

His friend. 

His _best_ friend. Why did Arthur call on him again? Must not have been important if he’s forgotten.

“N-nevermind.”

Merlin raises an eyebrow at that, but thankfully, lets it slide. 

Arthur gets up from the couch and walks over to the kitchen to join Merlin, who gives him a glass of water as well. They then start to talk about nonsense. How they’ve been, the pressures Arthur’s father has on him, Merlin’s new spells that he then shows off to a delighted Arthur. It’s nice and quiet. Just the two of them. 

Arthur knows he’s been sneaking glances every now and then. Hopefully, it isn’t super obvious. Drunk or not, Arthur doesn’t know what he would do if Merlin were to find out how Arthur’s feelings for him isn’t platonic anymore. Sometimes, Arthur thinks he spies Merlin sneaking glances also, but he knows that it’s only the trick of the light.

He looks to where the window resides just above the kitchen sink. It’s a full moon. Full moons on Halloween are always the best in Arthur’s opinion. The night sky alight with stars, the moon up high for all to see. But Arthur’s favorite part of full moon Halloweens is spending that time under the moonlight with Merlin.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww what sweet dummies they are! 
> 
> And yeah, this is now (and hopefully will not change once again) a three part fic. I don't think I'll be able to finish it until I'm done with my finals, but it will be done before the 25th. It's not Christmas yet, my friends! (Was listening to a lot of Halloween themed lofi songs to get in the mood and forgot for a split second that we are now not in November).
> 
> If you enjoyed it, give a kudo and leave a comment (also let me know about any errors I might have missed, I will greatly appreciate that!)


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